Published July 13, 2023
It can be pretty annoying when you lose something, spend hours looking for it, and still turn up empty. Some of us would cry in frustration. While others would rather showcase their extensive vocabulary of expletives.
Fortunately for us Catholics, we have someone we can turn to in times like this: Saint Anthony of Padua. Whether you lost your keys or your will to live, praying to St. Anthony can do miracles.
To help you start a devotion, we’re listing down some of the most fervent and unfailing prayers to St. Anthony. But before that, let’s get to know him better first.
The Life of St. Anthony of Padua
Famously known as the patron saint of lost and stolen articles, St. Anthony of Padua was a Franciscan preacher and teacher. He is often portrayed with the child Jesus in his arms. Though sometimes, he is also portrayed holding a lily, a book, or all three.
Born in 1195 in Lisbon, St. Anthony was originally christened Fernando Martins de Bulhões. He belonged to a wealthy family and was sent to the church as a young boy. When he came of age, he joined the Franciscan order hoping to preach to the Saracens. But due to his poor health and a ship that was blown off-course, he ended up teaching theology in Bologna and Southern France.
As a theologian, St. Anthony was famous for his simple yet profound sermons. Hundreds and even thousands of people would gather every time he preaches. His writings were translated into many languages and have become some of the greatest literary works in the Catholic church. In fact, his sermons and writings are so spot on that we still quote him more than 800 years later.
But Saint Anthony is more than just a patron of lost things. We can also call on him in times of trouble or when we need intercession for our special intentions. He is also known as the patron of miracles, the poor, lost people, lost souls, and lost spouses. Because of his works, he is also considered an advocate of the sick, the disabled, priests, travelers, sailors, fishermen, the oppressed, the hungry, and the elderly.
Prayers to Saint Anthony for Lost Things and Lost Causes
Whether you’re praying for a miracle or something to return to you, may these prayers to Saint Anthony help you achieve your heart’s desire.
Traditional St. Anthony Prayer for Lost Things
Saint Anthony, the perfect imitator of Jesus,
who received from God
the special power of restoring lost things,
grant that I may find what has been lost,
(mention your petition)
At least restore to me peace and tranquility of mind,
the loss of which has afflicted me
even more than my material loss.
To this favor, I ask another of you:
that I may always remain in possession
of the true good that is God.
Let me rather lose all things
than lose God, my supreme good.
Let me never suffer the loss of my greatest treasure,
eternal life with God. Amen.
Prayer to St. Anthony for Obtaining Things
O Holy St. Anthony, gentlest of Saints,
your love for God and charity for His creatures,
made you worthy, when on earth,
to possess miraculous powers.
Encouraged by this thought,
I implore you to obtain for me
(mention your request).
O gentle and loving St. Anthony,
whose heart was ever full of human sympathy,
whisper my petition into the ears of the sweet Infant Jesus,
who loved to be folded in your arms.
The gratitude of my heart will forever be yours.
Amen.
Prayer of Petition to St. Anthony
Wondrous Saint Anthony,
glorious for the fame of your miracles,
you had the happiness of receiving in your arms
our blessed Lord as a little child.
Obtain for me from His mercy this favor
that I desire from the bottom of my heart:
(mention your request)
Since you were so gracious to poor sinners,
do not regard the lack of merit
on the part of him who calls upon you,
but consider the glory of God,
which will be exalted once more through you,
by the salvation of my soul and the granting of the petition
that I now earnestly present to you.
As a pledge of my gratitude,
I beg you to accept my promise
to live henceforth more faithfully
according to the teaching of the Gospel
and to be devoted to the service of the poor
whom you ever loved and still love so much.
Bless this my resolution and obtain for me
the grace to be faithful to it till death.
Amen.
Prayer to St. Anthony for Personal Healing
St. Anthony, lover of the least and lowly, you reached out to the sick with a generous and compassionate heart. Please be with me in this time of ill health, and accompany me as I face this sickness and all the uncertainties of infirmity. Help me experience God’s healing power through your prayers, as well as my own.
If I suffer, lead me to unite myself to the Cross of Jesus Christ so that this suffering can bring spiritual benefit to me and to others. May my bearing the cross of illness here on earth prepare me for a new life in the eternal joys of perfect happiness and fullness of life with God forever in Heaven. Amen.
Prayer to St. Anthony for Help in Times of Need
O Holy St. Anthony, reach down from heaven
and take hold of my hand.
Assure me that I am not alone.
You are known to possess miraculous powers
and to be ever ready to speak for those in trouble.
Loving and Gentle St. Anthony, reach down from heaven,
I implore you and assist me in my hour of need.
Obtain for me (mention your request here).
Dearest St. Anthony, reach down from heaven
and guide me with thy strength.
Plead for me in my needs.
And teach me to be humbly thankful as you were
for all the bountiful lessons I am to receive.
Amen.
A Student’s Prayer to St. Anthony
St. Anthony, you became famous for your academic knowledge and your Christian wisdom. I hereby entrust my studies to your guidance. You know how important they are for my life, and how serious is the commitment they require of me.
Grant me the motivation and determination to apply myself to my studies consistently, the intelligence to understand all that I am being taught, and the gift of a good memory to remember and apply what I have learned.
With your heavenly aid, may I successfully continue and conclude my studies so I can be of help and service to others, and come to know my true purpose and meaning in this life. Amen.
Prayer to St. Anthony for Intercession
Saint Anthony, great wonder-worker,
intercede for us that God may grant us our request
if it be for the good of our soul.
Saint Anthony, be our patron, our protector,
and our advocate in life and in death.
Saint Anthony, attentive to those who invoke thee,
grant us the aid of thy powerful intercession
for the grace of holy purity, meekness, humility, obedience,
the spirit of poverty, and perfect abandonment to the will of God.
Saint Anthony, servant of Mary,
obtain for us greater devotion to the blessed Mother of God.
Prayer to St. Anthony for Help in Present Need
O blessed St. Anthony,
the grace of God has made you a powerful advocate
in all our needs and the patron
for the restoration of things lost or stolen.
I turn to you today with childlike love and deep confidence.
You have helped countless children of God
to find the things they have lost,
material things, and, more importantly,
the things of the spirit: faith, hope, and love.
I come to you with confidence;
help me in my present need.
I recommend what I have lost to your care,
in the hope that God will restore it to me,
if it is His holy Will. Amen.
Litany of the Lost
Lord have mercy. (Lord have mercy.)
Christ have mercy. (Christ have mercy.)
Lord have mercy. (Lord have mercy.)
For those of us who have lost our health, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost our peace of mind, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost our housing, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost our financial security, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost a loved one, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost our dreams, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost our talents, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost our initial zeal, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost our sobriety, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost our faith, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost our self-respect, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost our perspective, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost our innocence, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost our independence, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost peace within our families, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost civil peace, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost our trust in others, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost our virtue, St. Anthony, pray for us.
For those of us who have lost our home, St. Anthony, pray for us.
(Please add your own particular loss here.)
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Let us pray. All loving God, You have given us St. Anthony, the patron of the lost, as an intercessor of those who are in need of your mercy. Listen to his voice as he calls out to You on our behalf, and grant those things which will help us grow in Your love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer to Saint Anthony for Humility
Dear St. Anthony, after all these years in the school of Christ,
I still haven’t learned the lesson of true humility.
My feelings are easily ruffled.
Quick to take offense, I am slow to forgive.
St. Anthony, Example of Humility,
teach me the importance and necessity of this Christian virtue.
In the presence of Jesus,
who humbled Himself and whom the Father exalted,
remember also these special intentions of mine. (Name your intentions.)
Very Short Prayers to St. Anthony of Padua
Prayer 1:
Dear St. Anthony, please come around: something is lost, and it cannot be found.
Prayer 2:
St. Anthony, servant of Mary, obtain for us greater devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.
Prayer to St. Anthony for Family
St. Anthony, God blessed you with a loving family to form you in the image and the ideals of Jesus Christ. From your place in heaven, watch over my family, and help us grow together in faith and in a loving concern for each other.
Strengthen our bonds of family unity when we practice Jesus’ teachings of forgiveness, selfless service, of putting the love of God and the needs of others first in our lives. Give us words and ways to express our affection and respect for all in our family, and guide us to work through and resolve all our misunderstandings and disagreements. Amen.
Prayer to St. Anthony for Help in Finding a Home
St. Anthony, I’m desperate, I need immediate help
and I know You can help me.
I need to find a house very quickly,
I need to find a place to live,
to shelter and to be able to be happy.
I need a home, I need a home to go to,
where I can sleep, where I can rest, and where I can pray.
With the help of St. Anthony
I know I’ll be able to find a house to live in,
I know I’ll be able to find a house to be happy.
St. Anthony, help me find a house!
I count on Your miraculous help, now and forever.
Amen.
Prayer to Saint Anthony for Fair-Mindedness
Dear St. Anthony, you were prompt to fulfill all justice. You gave God and His creation the service He required from you. You respected other people’s rights and treated them with kindness and understanding. St. Anthony, Zealous for Justice, teach me the beauty of this virtue. Make me prompt to fulfill all justice toward God and toward all creation. Help me also in my pressing needs. (Name your intentions.)
Prayer to Saint Anthony for Any Need
I salute you, St. Anthony, lily of purity, ornament, and glory of Christianity.
I salute you, great Saint, cherub of wisdom, and seraph of divine love. I rejoice at the favors Our Lord has so liberally bestowed on you.
In humility and confidence, I entreat you to help me, for I know that God has given you charity and compassion, as well as power.
I ask you, by the love you felt toward the Holy Infant Jesus as you held Him in your arms, to tell Him now of the favors I seek through your intercession. (Mention your petition.)
O glorious favorite of God, in humble reverence, I petition you to grant me what I so urgently ask for, and I will make known your goodness and holiness, thereby to honor and glorify Him who has so greatly blessed you. Amen.
Prayer to St. Anthony for Miracles
Dear St. Anthony, your prayers obtained miracles during your lifetime.
You still seem to move at ease in the realm of minor and major miracles.
St. Anthony, Performer of Miracles, please obtain for me
the blessings God holds in reserve who serve Him.
Pray that I may be worthy of the promises
my Lord Jesus attaches to confident prayer.
(Mention your special intentions.)
Prayer to St. Antony for Charity
Dear St. Anthony, God wants us to see Christ, our brother,
in everyone and love Him truly in word and in deed.
God wills that we share with others
the joy of His boundless love.
St. Anthony, Generator of Charity,
remember me in the Father’s presence,
that I may be generous in sharing the joy of His love.
Remember also the special intentions I now entrust to you.
(Mention your special intentions.)
Prayer to St. Anthony for Clearer Spiritual Vision
Dear St. Anthony, you recall the Gospel episode about the blind man who,
partly healed, could see men “looking like walking trees.”
After a second laying-on of Jesus’s hands, he could see perfectly.
St. Anthony, Restorer of Sight to the Blind, please sharpen my spiritual vision.
May I see people, not as trees or numbers,
but as sons and daughters of the Most High.
Help me in my pressing needs.
(Name your special intentions.)
Prayer to Saint Anthony for Inner Peace
St. Anthony, faithful servant of Christ, you offered comfort and consolation to all who came to you in times of trouble. Pray for me now, that I may know true peace of mind, heart and soul. Help me grow in faith, so that I may be free from all useless and needless anxiety in this life.
Fill me with a complete and lasting confidence in God’s healing graces. Grant me the serenity known by those who let go of resentments, bitterness and anger. Reassure me that Our Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, is with me every step of the way, every day of my life, and that in His gracious love I need not worry or fear any of life’s difficulties. Amen.
Prayer of Gratitude to St. Anthony
St. Anthony, glorious worker of wonders, you have assisted me with great kindness and have consoled my soul. I express to you now my heartfelt gratitude and thanks for all your heavenly aid.
Accept my prayer, and my sincere promise, to strive to live always in the love of Jesus Christ and of my neighbor. Continue to shield me with your powerful protection, and obtain for me the final grace of being able, one day, to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and to join with you in the everlasting praises of God’s love and mercy. Amen.
